[Max Ra]

Thinking too much does not help. Infact it hinders. What do you think will be the best approach to starting to take care of thinking too much ?

[online user]

You might find distracting activities that otherwise occupy your mind...like a hobby or crafting of some kind. Or doing mindless online games like in the PC arcade. Or lying in bed and focusing only on your breathing--breath going in and breath going out. Listen to your breath, try not to do anything or think anything but listen to hear your breath go in & out. That can be very relaxing.

Great techniques Online User

Have you tried to stop the thoughts? Or postpone them?

Through my many many years of therapy one of the many techniques I use to stop the worries or thoughts is to say "STOP" and perhaps imagine a stop sign in your head. I then say "I will worry about this later". Usually I am able to postpone the worry/thoughts to another time when I am more able to deal with it. And when I do go back to thinking I find in a less distressed state many of my thoughts are not helpful or useful and I can easily throw them out of my head.

Relaxation and mindfulness are great ways of having a break from the thoughts. I find the easiest way for me to "live in the moment" is to have a small piece of chocolate in my mouth. I focus on the chocolate, just letting it sit and slowly dissolve away. For a few minutes I am living in the moment, just me and the beautiful melting chocolate and it is bliss.

I hope you can find a technique that works for you There are so many out there, its just a matter of trial and error, find what works for you.

[Gus1234U]

the brain is made for thinking. since it's going to think anyway, learn to ignore it, and focus on other things. i thought those were good suggestions: focus on breathing, also counting the breath; some might not want to eat as an escape, but doing things like crafts or puzzles is a very good diversion.

if the thoughts have a focus, like a problem to solve, or an event to digest, it helps to write them down. they seem to hold still better that way.

when i was beginning meditation, we were told to ignore the thinking, and focus on the body sensations. that is a good way to get to sleep, too~! far too much emphasis on thinking in this culture, seems like to me ~

good question, Max
best wishes~
Gus

[sonnenschein]

Have you tried finding a mantra for blocking a chain of negative thoughts? It doesn't have to be something religious; it can be a piece of poetry, a verse of a song or just a phrase that you can repeat over and over until your head starts to clear.